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In this series of posts, I’m going to share with you what has worked for me in business for the last 30 years. I currently have business agreements with partners in China, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and the United States. I’ve done business with well-known authors, speakers, artists, producers, film-makers, promoters, government ministries, large and small organizations – you name it. What I tell my clients is if you prepare for your business relationships, your partnerships, like you do marriage, then I can guarantee you a significantly higher success rate. This article contains steps 1 and 2 to creating a successful business relationship. Follow along, put it into practice and enjoy the fruits of clarity.

As all human beings have feelings, opinions, beliefs and emotions that can and do affect us in different ways in the various circumstances that make up our lives, I, _____________________ and I, _____________________ agree that as of this date: _______________________, we have read the chapter in What School Should have Taught You about Money & You and have fully discussed and hereby declare that we have discussed and are now fully aware of the following…

1. Be willing to make your partner happy

___ We have asked and told each other what makes each of us happy in business and personally.

___ We know what we can do to bother them and get the upset.

___ We are willing and committed to hear each other out – repeating the other’s point of view before expressing our own opinion.

___ We are willing to have things go “their way” at times

___ We will consciously and clearly “agree to agree” or “agree to disagree” when necessary.

___ We will “share” in the way the business is run and agree to how that might look like.

2. Create joint ventures first before creating your business partnership.

___ We will go (or have not gone) into our partnership until we have worked on a few projects under “joint-venture” basis first.

___ We realize that this partnership/business venture is more like a marriage than anything is, and we will get to know each other like we would in a courtship.

___ I am willing to commit to my partner, as well as the business…

___ for a very long time.

___ through thick and through thin

___ to talk together and meet on a regular basis to evaluate how it is going

___ to call in a third party to facilitate when we don’t see eye to eye and cannot resolve a conflict within 45 minutes.

___ to get to know each other first for at least ___ months or ___ years.

___ We will spend plenty of time together before moving on to larger commitments.

___ To see each other working under a variety of situations, both when things are going well and when they aren’t.

___ To see each other when we are under pressure.

___ To spend time traveling together.

___ To get involved in activities together that will allow us to see how my potential partner(s) react under different situations.

___ To interview their old friends and ex-partners.

___ To attend several different types of seminars together, including intensive, long-term personal growth as well as business programs.

___ To learn how best to communicate with each other.

___ To work with a professional team builder and business coach to help us review or develop our business practices.

___ To develop a “language” we can use together.

___ To meet as soon as possible after each project we do together to review it, confirm what worked, list what didn’t work, and commit to the change that each “learning experience” indicated is needed.

___ To correct my systems (or attitudes) and learn from them.

This may sound like a lot to agree on – and if you really read this, you do this in regular relationships before fully committing in a marriage. I encourage you to approach your business partnerships like a marriage because you are legally agreeing to be in partnership. And sometimes dissolving a business can be more destructive and time-consuming than divorce. So be prepared.

And as my old partner used to say, “If someone will cheat in their marriage, what would stop them from cheating in business?”

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* Based on the teachings of the Money & You® program and other Excellerated programs which have been taught for over 40 years globally. Many of today’s wealth experts and rock stars of the industry are graduates and have adopted some of these principles and tools and have been taught to millions.